KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will no longer be considered a democracy if the rulers are allowed to choose who they like as the prime minister and mentris besar, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The country practises a constitutional monarchy and not an absolute monarchy, and this also applicable to Johor as the state is part of Malaysia that is governed by the Federal Constitution, he added.
“The rakyat voted in a party which has the right to appoint the mentri besar, and if this right is denied, then we are not a democracy,“ Mahathir told a press conference in Parliament today.
He was commenting on a statement by the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, that the federal government should not interfere in Johor matters “as the state still has a sultan”.
The Sultan’s comment came amid ongoing tension between Mahathir and the Johor palace over the position of the state mentri besar, Datuk Osman Sapian, leading to the latter’s resignation on Monday.
Mahathir subsequently suggested a discourse be initiated to determine whether the rakyat would accept the existing constitutional monarchy system or prefer an absolute monarchy.
“If this (constitutional monarchy) is abolished, then we no longer need to have a general election,“ he said.
Earlier today, Sultan Ibrahim took to Facebook to remind the federal government not to meddle with his state affairs, adding that he would make whatever decisions deemed best for his people.
This was after Mahathir stressed that the prerogative to appoint a new mentri besar for Johor rests with the party which won the election, and not with the Sultan.
Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim earlier said he hoped the new mentri besar would not be a “yes man” to Putrajaya, while claiming the decision to replace Osman was dependent on a decree by Sultan Ibrahim, and not on orders from Pakatan Harapan.
